Automatic management of geographic information pertaining to social networks, groups of users, or assets

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, apparatus and software have been discovered for use by individual users to monitor the geographic location of other people or assets with some relationship to the user. Once some manner of location information is determined, users have the ability to describe that location in various ways and control how that information is shared with other users.

This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/752,165, filed Dec. 19, 2005, entitled“Automatic Management Of Geographic Information Pertaining To SocialNetworks, Groups Of Users, Or Assets,” and naming Brett Stewart as theinventor. The above-referenced application is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the management of geographicinformation related to individual members of groups (social orotherwise) or to assets whose geographic location is being monitored.

BACKGROUND

Individuals, groups, and organizations are increasingly taking advantageof various types of mobile computer and telecommunications technology.Such technology includes, for example, various types of mobile computingdevices including cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),notebook computers, tablet computers, and other specialized computingdevices. All of these devices have some amount of computing power insupport of their specified functions. Moreover, many of these devicesinclude one or more mechanisms for mobile communication, e.g., wirelessvoice and/or data networks used by cell phones, wireless Ethernet (IEEE802.11) compliant local area networks (LANs), wireless broadbandnetworks, short range wireless networks such as Bluetooth, and evenwired network access such as public and private availability ofconventional Ethernet. As users use these mobile devices to perform manyof the tasks formerly performed with only stationary devices, there arenew opportunities to provide useful information to device users.

SUMMARY

Systems, methods, apparatus and software have been discovered for use byindividual users to monitor the geographic location of other people orassets with some relationship to the user. Once some manner of locationinformation is determined, users have the ability to describe thatlocation in various ways and control how that information is shared withother users.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations and omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. As willalso be apparent to one of skill in the art, the operations disclosedherein may be implemented in a number of ways, and such changes andmodifications may be made without departing from this invention and itsbroader aspects. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages ofthe present invention, as defined solely by the claims, will becomeapparent in the non-limiting detailed description set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention and advantagesthereof may be acquired by referring to the following description andthe accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate likefeatures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a system for providingusers with geographic information about other users and/or assets.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of user interface elements that can beused as part of the systems described in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating aspects of operation of a system forproviding users with geographic information about other users and/orassets.

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate examples of user interface elements that can beused as part of the systems described in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a computer system forimplementing the techniques disclosed in the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following sets forth a detailed description of at least the bestcontemplated mode for carrying out the one or more devices and/orprocesses described herein. The description is intended to beillustrative and should not be taken to be limiting.

Although the description below emphasizes systems, methods, apparatusand software for use by individual users to monitor the geographiclocation of other people with some relationship to the user (e.g.,friends, colleagues, employees, family members, etc.) and to allowothers to monitor their geographic location, numerous variations of thisbasic implementation are contemplated. First, the nature of therelationship among the various users can be one or more of manydifferent relationships. In addition to the already mentioned, numerousother relationships are contemplated including, by way of example,merchant/client relationships, institutional relationships, governmentalrelationships, and the like. Moreover, various different degrees ofgeographic information can be included, from the most general (e.g.,longitude and latitude coordinates), to the more specific (e.g., room101, Townes Hall, The University of Texas, Austin, Tex., USA.) Moreover,there can be many different ways to describe the same location, or tocharacterize a set of locations where less detailed information isdesired to be disseminated. Finally, although the examples below willemphasize the location of system users (i.e., people) and thecommunications devices they possess, the system can be extended toinclude the management of geographic location information for variousdifferent objects.

Various different types of communications devices can be used with or bythe systems, methods, apparatus and software described in the presentapplication. Examples include, but are not limited to, mobile computingdevices such as cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants(PDAs), notebook computers, tablet computers, other specializedcomputing devices, and computing devices integrated into other devices(e.g., vehicles, vending machines, etc.). Whatever communication deviceis used, it is assumed to have the requisite computing power andcommunications access to provide some or all of the functionalitydescribed in the present application.

Additionally, these communications devices, the communications networksthey use, and/or some other device have to be able to determine and/orprovide some manner of geographical information about the device'slocation and thus its user's location. Here again, there are numeroustechniques and mechanisms that can be used to provide this information.In the simplest example, a user explicitly identifies his or her currentlocation to the communications device. In other examples thecommunications device itself, or in operation with the communicationsnetwork it utilizes, determines the device's location. In still otherexamples, some other device or network, separate from the communicationsdevice in question determines location information.

Finally, the systems, methods, apparatus and software of the presentapplication allow users to exchange location information in a meaningfulway and to define various parameters to control when, to whom, and towhat degree location information (and any associated information) isdisseminated.

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a system for providingusers with geographic information about other users and/or assets. Notethat the components and arrangement shown in FIG. 1 are merelyillustrative, and various similar embodiments are contemplated.Computing and communications system 100 can include numerous differentclient communications devices (143, 145, 153, 155, and 165) usingvarious communications network service providers (140, 150, 160) and oneor more servers 110. As will be described in greater detail below,various software and hardware components can be located in the clientand server devices as illustrated, located in other devices notillustrated, or differently distributed among client and server devices.

Server 110 includes location detection module 113, location labelingmodule 111, and friend list management module 115. Additionally, server110 includes requisite software interfaces for different types ofcommunication such as instant messaging (IM) interface 117, emailinterface 118, and short message service (SMS) interface 119. These aremerely examples of the types of communication protocol interfaces usedby server 110 to communicate with various client devices. Moreover,these interfaces can include various sub-components (not shown) such asmessage servers, protocol stacks, associated databases, and the like.

Location detection module 113 operates independently or in conjunctionwith one or more of the communication devices and/or one or more of theservice providers to determine the location of a particularcommunications device at any point in time. In some embodiments,individual communications devices determine their location andcommunicate that information to server 110. In such examples, locationdetection module 113 need only extract that information from one or moremessages received from the communications device. For example, a user ofa communications device can explicitly indicate the user's/device'slocation. Such information in the form, for example, of longitude andlatitude information, can be provided to server 110, which extracts theinformation and associates the information with the user of the device,e.g., storing the information in a user profile in user database 120.The raw location information can take various forms. Server 110 canfurther use location labeling module 111 to associate the location datawith one or more location labels. In some embodiments a user can define,again as part of the user's profile, one or more labels or aliasescorresponding to various locations. For example, a user can define arange of longitudes and latitudes as “home”, “work”, or “school”.Location labels can be more specific, and can be overlapping, e.g.,“school”, “The University of Texas”, and “Townes Hall” can include (inwhole or in part) portions of the same location. Location labeling canalso be automatic in the sense that server 110 attempts to identify oneor more location labels that correspond to the location informationdetermined by module 113. Thus, module 111 might utilize geographicdatabase 125 (or other resources not shown) to associate one or morelocation labels (e.g., “5^(th) & Lavaca St.”, “Downtown Austin”, “Moe'sTavern”) with the specific location identified.

Numerous other techniques can be used to identify the communicationsdevice location. In the case of wireless service provider 140 (e.g., acell phone service provider) and wireless communications devices such ascell phone 143 and in-vehicle communications device 145, variouspositioning technologies and techniques can be used. In general,positioning technologies calculate, measure, or otherwise determine thephysical location of the user and communicate this information to theuser, to the service provider, or to some other entity (e.g., server110). Positioning technologies can use purely device-based approaches,they can utilize information from the communications network, or somecombination of the two. Many positioning technologies use some portionof the network, allowing service providers to retain the data (e.g., toensure its use generates revenue for them). In some instances,network-based positioning technologies allow for the consumption offewer communication device resources (e.g., power, computing resources,memory, etc.). Moreover, network-centric solutions typically allow theuse of communications devices without modification, e.g., it does notmatter what specific type of cell phone a user is using.

Examples of network-centric positioning solutions include: cell-ID/cellsite sector, enhanced cell-ID, and enhanced observed time difference(E-OTD). Cell-ID/cell site sector positioning technology is perhaps themost widely used cell phone network technique. This technique usesexisting data from the network to identify the radio cell site andsector in which a user is located. Consequently, location accuracy isdependent on cell size. While this solution works well in dense urbanareas, e.g., enabling positioning down to a city block, it is far lessaccurate in suburban or rural areas where a cell might cover many squaremiles. Enhanced cell-ID is another network technology combining cell ID(CI) with one or more other technologies. The level of accuracy isincreased over basic CI, often ranging from 75-500 meters. For example,in GSM networks, CI can be combined with timing advance information(which measures handset range from the base station, including whetheror not the handset is connected to the nearest cell) and/or receivedsignal level (which measures average signal strength). In W-CDMAnetworks, CI can be combined with round-trip-time (i.e., a feature ofthe W-CDMA standard similar to GSM's timing advance) data to improvelocation accuracy. E-OTD is a network technology that requiresadditional software on the mobile device and the addition of globalpositioning system (GPS) or similar positioning system receivers to basestations. Here, the mobile device calculates a user's position bytriangulating the differing arrival times of network synchronizationdata regularly transmitted between handset and base station. A relatedtechnique is time difference of arrival (TDOA). TDOA also usestriangulation and time delay, but the processing is performed instead onthe network side of the communication link.

Device or “handset” centric solutions include GPS and assisted GPS.Using GPS satellites, handsets can determine their location themselvesand to a high degree accuracy where the satellite signal is good. Thistechnique is less effective indoors, and may draw heavily on devicepower if the position is determined frequently regularly. Similarly, theuser may experience noticeable delays if the calculations are performedon-demand. With assisted-GPS (A-GPS) the handset is supplemented withnetwork information to provide additional accuracy and speed of locationdetermination. GPS receivers are connected to the network at variousknown geographic points to provide additional data to the handset,greatly reducing the time needed to get positioning information andthereby allowing longer battery life. Certain A-GPS variants can alsoprovide better in-building location coverage and accuracy.

Numerous other techniques can be used for determining the position ofcellular communications devices, including analysis of radio behavior toposition the handset, and to calculate distances, angles of receptionand signal strengths. Such techniques can vary depending on theparticular cellular technique used. Moreover, various techniques can becombined to provide certain advantages.

Access point provider 150 is, for example a wireless Ethernet (IEEE802.11) service provider utilizing access point antenna 151 to providenetwork access to devices such as PDA 155 and laptop 153. Such a wifihotspot can be provided by businesses (e.g., coffee shops, book stores,etc.), public facilities (e.g., airports, parks, etc.) privatefacilities or homes, and the like. Devices using access point 150 caninclude some of the same types of self-locating capabilities previouslydescribe with respect to cellular devices. In other embodiments,however, devices such as communications devices 153 and 155 rely onaspects of the access point provider and/or the related communicationsnetwork to provide location information.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,061, U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,635, and U.S.Patent Publication No. 2002/0173981 describe various techniques fordetermining, providing, and utilizing geographic location information inconjunction with communications devices using a so-called “wifihotspot”. These documents are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

To illustrate the location process very generally, a communicationdevice such as laptop 153 first establishes a connection with accesspoint 150. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, this caninvolve a variety of steps and utilize various types of hardware andsoftware. Once the connection is established, access point 150 caninform one or more entities of the location of laptop 153 based on theaccess point's knowledge of its own location. This location informationcan be configured by the access point provider, automatically determined(e.g., using GPS), or derived in some other manner. As in otherexamples, the location information can take one or more forms includinglongitude/latitude coordinates, city information, address information,facility information, and the like. The entities informed will generallybe one or both of the relevant client device and a related server suchas server 110. In some embodiments, the user of the communicationsdevice need not formally avail themselves of the access point services.For example, instead of knowingly accessing the relevant communicationsnetwork (e.g., Internet 130) via access point 150, the user's device maysimply send a beacon signal that is picked up by one or more accesspoints. When the beacon signal is picked up by an access point,information in the beacon signal is compared against a managementinformation base (MIB) (not shown) managed by the access point itself,or some other entity such as server 110. Since the location of theaccess point is defined and known in the MIB, detection of the presenceof the communications device by an access point allows the entitymanaging the MIB to know where the device and its user are. Thisinformation can be used directly, or forwarded to some other device,including the detected communications device itself.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, such a MIB can be part of one orboth of user database 120 and geographic database 125, or part ofanother data store not shown. In general, a MIB is a mechanism whichallows the persistent storage of information needed by network theaccess point and/or other portions of system 100 to operate. Examples ofsuch information include a directory of all the elements in the network,the topology of the network, characteristics of individual networkelements, characteristics of connection links, performance and trendstatistics, and any information which is of interest in system'soperation. For example, the MIB can store the precise longitude,latitude, altitude and other geographic information pinpointing thelocation of one or more access points. Alternatively, an access pointcan be located by its proximity to another known location. For example,an access point location may be defined as a particular hotel known tobe at a particular address or having known latitude and longitudecoordinates. The extent of geographic area covered by an access pointmay be defined in the same ways.

Like determining the location of a cell phone by its presence in aparticular cell, mere proximity to a known wifi access point may notprovide sufficient location information. Thus, various technologies canbe used to further identify the location of the user. For example,access point 150 can include circuitry for measuring the signal strengthof a signal received from a communications device or for determining thebearing of an incoming signal from a communications device. Softwareand/or hardware can also be included to set and read time stamps of datapackets exchanged between the access point and the communicationsdevice. In still other examples, multiple access points, or multiplereceivers associated with the same access point can be used to performtriangulation techniques, the resulting location information beingcompared with the known geography of the vicinity of the accesspoint(s).

Accordingly, there are various techniques for determining the locationof a communications device. Basic location information becomes moreuseful with: (1) the ability to describe that location in various ways(e.g., the use of the aforementioned location labels); and (2) givingusers some measure of control over how that information is shared.

The '981 publication teaches a number of techniques whereby businessesmay initiate a registration event that would allow the geographiclocation of the business to be recorded in a computer system along withother attributes, and subsequently used to display selected informationabout the proximity of businesses to a single user, promotions ineffect, etc. The present disclosure can utilize these and othertechniques to give a user not simply a list of business locationsdisplayed in a convenient textual or graphical form, but a list ofmembers of a social network (or some other relationship group) displayedin a convenient textual or graphical form. Using information derived bythe access point, derived by server 110, supplied by the user, or somecombination thereof, the user benefits from the additional convenienceof having one or more location labels tailored to the circumstancesunder which the information is shared. By way of example, a user namedMary could provide specified fellow users (or groups of users) differentinformation such as “Mary is at the Pastime Lounge” or “Mary is at herusual haunt”. In the latter example, the information supplied is derivedfrom Mary's specification to a registry (e.g., user database 120) thatthe Pastime Lounge is “her usual haunt”. Moreover, a registration eventthat aggregates multiple wifi hotspots for registration purpose canfurther be used to provide different location labels. For example, “themall” might be an aggregation of multiple businesses. With anaggregation registry, additional conveniences can be provided to theusers of communications devices.

FIG. 2 provides an example user interface for assigning location labelsto a particular location. This user interface would typically bepresented to a user of a communications device (e.g., part of userinterface 159 of client software 156 in PDA 155). In this example, userinterface 200 allows a user to assign location labels. At 210, thecurrent location is displayed in some known format, here in longitudeand latitude coordinates. This information can be derived by any of theaforementioned techniques and provided to the communications device.Alternately, the user can explicitly enter this information as part ofthe location label assignment process. Depending on system design,configuration, and user requirements, the default or base location(which is itself a location label) can be in a variety of formats.

User interface elements 220 provide the user multiple options forlocation labels. The different labels can be categorized in a variety ofdifferent ways. Here, they are simply categorized as Name 1, Name 2,etc. In other examples, the category can correspond to a group of users(e.g., family, friends, spouse, colleagues, etc.), a degree ofspecificity, (e.g., general, city, address), or similar categories. Inthis example, both Name 1 and Name 2 have been selected by the user ascategories for which location labels corresponding to the currentlocation are provided. Corresponding labels “Home” and “123 Main St.”are provided by the user. The Name 3 category was not selected and itsfield is left blank in this example.

Additionally, the user can request the system to provide location labelsuggestions (230). In this case, a user can pick from one or moreclasses or types of location label, and have the system (e.g., locationlabeling module 111 of server 110) determine labels to use. In stillother embodiments, some labels can be based on label elections. Forexample, if 1000 prior users label something “Barton Creek Mall,” thatlabel gets “elected” for that location. Similarly, users can suggest acommon label. Users may or may not be allowed to change the label.Moreover, users can further alias the elected label, e.g., creatinganother location label based on the elected label. For example, a usermight define “My Usual Haunt” to correspond to the elected label “BartonCreek Mall.” Once the user is finished making selections and enteringinformation, he or she actuates assign button 240 to cause the locationlabels to be assigned. Again, user interface 200 is merely one exampleillustrating possible mechanisms for assigning location labels. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize numerous variations in type of userinterface (e.g., command line, graphical user) and interface elements.Thus, user interface 200 is implemented using well known user interfaceelements such as windows, buttons, pull down menus, slide-bars, textfields, icons, pointer icons (e.g., I-beam cursor insertion icons), fileselection tools, tree representations, and the like. If thefunctionality is provided via a browser enabled application, a user mayaccess the tool via a web server client or browser, and user interface200 is part of a web server that presents an HTML, Flash, etc., userinterface. Thus, various different user interfaces or combinations ofuser interfaces can be used as is well known to those skilled in theart.

Varying levels of location labels allow users to control the type oflocation information disseminated according to various parameters orlocation sharing constraints. For example, a user may be willing to tellmembers of her social network she is “at the mall” but not “at thedepartment store at the mall”. Similarly, certain users can receive onelevel of information (e.g., “tell mom I am at the mall”) while othersreceive another (“tell John I am in the women's section of thedepartment store”). Thus, location labeling functionality will often bedetermined, at least in part, by the variety of location sharingconstraints available in the system.

Returning to FIG. 1, other examples of communications devices include PC165 coupled to Internet 130 via Internet service provider 160. As shown,PC 165 is connected to network 130 in a wired manner, and isrepresentative of the current trend of users to provide themselvesprivate network connections in their homes or offices. Of course, suchconnections need not be fully wired, i.e., they can include wirelessaccess similar to wifi hotspots. Thus, the concept of geographicpresence communication to members of a social network or other group isextended to these types of devices as well. Whether wired or wireless,these connections are generally unmediated as opposed to the otherconnections illustrated because they are largely privately establishedin homes or offices. The present application further contemplatesassociating the often transitory network address of such networkfacilities (e.g., broadband access provided by DSL or cable modems) witha location that is meaningful in the context of a social network orother group.

For example, when a user assigns location labels as described above, theparticular network address associated with the broadband connection canbe location labeled. Such associations can be maintained until such timeuser communications originate from a different address. To add a degreeof convenience to this latter aspect, portable devices can have softwarethat configures the aliases locally as opposed to storing the mapping ina network-based data store. By way of illustration, consider the typicalhome network, with a network boundary device such as a router, andpossibly including a wifi access point. A user connecting his portabledevice to this network would have automatic availability of informationthat would uniquely identify the particular point of conventionalnetwork attachment. The router would supply a local network address, andidentify the gateway to the external network. This gateway would beuniquely determinable by obtaining the media access control (MAC)address of the gateway via the common address resolution protocol (ARP).In a similar fashion, a user of a private wifi hotspot could obtain aunique identifier from the wifi network name or “SSID” separately or incombination with the wifi access point MAC address. Once such a uniqueproxy for the current location is obtained, the user can be presentedwith various labeling options. For example, upon identifying apreviously unknown connection point to network location, software on thecommunications device can query the user to associate this location witha particular location label. In this way, the geographic presence ofuser can be extended to numerous locations.

It should be noted that such techniques offer convenience to stationaryusers of computing devices attached to networks as well as to mobileusers. For example, a stationary home computer with a network connectioncan have such software installed, so that mobile users can obtaininformation about the geographic location presence of stationary membersof a social network. In still other embodiments, private access pointscan present location labels without having underling specific locationinformation such as longitude and latitude coordinates. Mobile andstationary users attached to private networks with no geographicinformation can still use local software to recognize a particular MACaddress, wifi SSID, or other network identifiers and associate them witha location label.

Client software 156 of PDA 155 illustrates an example of some of thesoftware components that can be present in a client device. Variousdifferent user interfaces can be implemented in support of theunderlying functionality of the client software. Examples of suchinterfaces are shown in FIGS. 2, 4A, and 4B. Numerous variations ofgraphical user interfaces, textual user interfaces, voice command userinterfaces, and command line user interfaces can be used. Clientsoftware 156 will also typically include software in support of locationdetection (157), particularly where location detection is performed inwhole or in part by the client device (e.g., onboard GPS circuitry).

List management 158 provides a user with the tools needed to performvarious tasks related to the dissemination of location informationincluding, for example, accepting new users (“friends”), requestinginclusion in the friends list of others, defining location sharingconstraints, managing user profile information, processing in-boundlocation information, and the like. List management 158 can be anintegrated part of other tools, such as IM or SMS client software, or astandalone tool for users to manage their friends list. Some or all oflist management 158 can be local to client software 156, or listmanagement 158 might simply be an interface to server-sidefunctionality, e.g., list management functionality is accessed from aweb server via a browser that is part of client software 156. Clientsoftware 156 can include other types of functionality, either as part ofthe modules illustrated, or as part of separate modules. For example, toprovide user identification and/or security functions, client 155 caninclude a certificate or other identification information fortransmitting to the appropriate access point. This identificationinformation can be further relayed to different service providers orserver 110. The digital certificate or profile can store informationneeded for user authentication and security on the network.

However implemented, list management 158 provides the user with a suiteof features to manage their geographic friends list. Users can receiverequests for inclusion from other users and decide whether or not toinclude the other users in their list. A user can define parameters formanaging the automatic inclusion or exclusion of new friends. Similarly,a user can request to be included in the list of another user. In stillother examples, other social network software can mediate the request,providing further functionality, such as identifying friends-of-friends,indicating the nature of the desired relationship, only making therequest if certain conditions are met by the receiving user, and thelike.

A user can enable or disable the dissemination of their locationinformation. Such enabling/disabling can be globally, per person, pergroups of people, location dependent, time dependent, mood dependent,and the like. In general, numerous different qualifiers can be used aslocation information constraints. Similarly, a user can select when orwhere they wish to receive location information from other users. Suchinformation can also be constrained on a per friend basis, based ongroups, etc. A user can also define the type of location information,e.g., which location label(s) can be sent to which users. This can rangefrom no information, to general information (“home”, “work”, “out”,“school”, etc.), to more specific information such as longitude andlatitude coordinates, addresses, map links, and user defined aliases. Instill other examples, a user can explicitly inform other users that theyare not informing other users of their present location.

Users can also define the manner in which they want the client torespond when friends' location information is received. For example,users can request to be notified of changes (e.g., visually, via anaudible indicator, or via a tactile feature such as vibration). Suchindicators may depend on proximity. For example, a user can be notifiedof another user's location when the other user is within a certaindistance from the first user, or when the other user is beyond a certaindistance. As above, all of these constraints can be applied on variousdifferent user levels, e.g., per user, per user groups, etc.

As noted above, use of list management 158 can be related to one or moresocial networks maintained via software. Moreover, some or all of theconstraints described can be based on information from such socialnetworks. For example, each of the users can be a member of orassociated with a system that tracks the various relationships betweenand among the users, who form a community. Examples include MySpace.com,Friendster.com, Orkut.com, Dodgeball.com, Facebook.com, and the like.With system membership, users typically provide information to completea profile about the user. Such profiles can contain all relevantinformation about user, such as name, gender, other identificationinformation, pictures, preferences of the user, smoking/non-smokingstatus, religion, educational background, hobbies, and other featuresthat are commonly associated with profiles for relationship or datingsystems. Certain location preferences can also be specified, e.g.,favorite restaurants, bars, clubs, bookstores, coffee shops, etc. Suchprofile information can be stored locally, but is more likely stored bysome system server, e.g., server 110.

Client software 156 is merely an example, and the specific featuresincluded can vary based on a number of factors including, for example,design choices, features that are enabled (e.g., based on payment to aservice provider), the type of communications device used, the type ofaccess point, and the like. The software components of server 110 willalso vary depending on these and other factors. As noted above, variousdifferent types of information are stored in databases 120 and 125.These databases provide a uniform, secure, and resilient data store forvarious different types of information used in system 100. Databases 120and 125 are typically implemented using a database management system(DBMS). Examples of such DBMSs include IBM's DB2, Oracle Corporation'sdatabase management systems, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase IQ, MySQL,PosgreSQL, and the like. These databases can be a relational ornon-relational database. Although schematically illustrated as aseparate program/entity, some implementations of database 120 and 125can be integrated with other applications, such as software shown inserver 110. In such embodiments, one or more databases might not beconsidered to be a “traditional” database, but rather some other type ofdata store. Nevertheless, as used in the present application, “database”should be given its broadest meaning.

Finally, although only certain types of network connectivity areillustrated in FIG. 1, numerous different types of wireless and wiredconnectivity are envisioned. Emerging wireless technologies such as 3G,WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), UWB, wireless USB, various types of broadbandservice, and even older data communication schemes such as dial-upthrough the PSTN can be used in conjunction with the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating some aspects of the operation of asystem such as system 100. Note that various operations illustrated canalternately be performed by client communication devices, a server, orsome combination of the two. Operation begins at 300, where it isassumed that both client and server devices are properly configured, anda user can access the friend list system. This may further requirevarious initialization, configuration, and log-in operations not shown.

In operation 310, the location of a client device is determined. Asnoted above, this can be performed in a variety of different waysincluding: user identification of location, location determination bythe client device, location determination by the network, locationdetermination by a server device, or some combination thereof. Once alocation is determined, associated location labels can be accessed.These may be two distinct operations, or a combined operation. Locationlabel determination may require access to a user profile or databasewith location label information. Consequently, location information maybe transmitted from client to server or vice versa in order to performrequisite look-up operations to determine established location labelsfor a particular location. In still other embodiments, determination oflocation labels can be performed as part of operation 320.

Once a location (and possibly related location labels) is determined,user specified location sharing constraints are analyzed to determineone or more of when, how, and to whom location information is sent(320). Since the location label used can vary based on theseconstraints, location label determination can be performed in whole orin part as part of this process. Moreover, this operation can beperformed by the client, by the server, or some combination of the two.Based on the application of one or more location sharing constraints, adetermination is made (330) whether to transmit location information toone or more users or groups of users. If location information is not tobe transmitted to fellow users, operation transitions to 350 describedbelow. If location information is to be transmitted, the transmissionoccurs at 340. In addition to location information, other relatedinformation can be included. For example, user profile information,simple messages, and user status information (e.g., available to chat,mood information, availability for social interaction, etc.) canaccompany the location information. This information can be transmittedfrom one client directly to another, from client to server to client,from server to client (e.g., in the cases where application of locationsharing constraints is performed by the server), or some combinationthereof.

Once transmission is complete, a client communications device operatesin a receive mode where it awaits in-bound location information fromother users. If such information is received, as determined in 350;operation transitions to 360 where any rules for handling receipt oflocation information are applied against the information. This willtypically cause some manner of information “display”, e.g., graphically,textually, via indicator lights, audibly, or via some mechanicaloperation such as vibration.

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate examples of user interface elements that can beused to display received location information. FIG. 4A illustrates asample Friends List display 400. Display 400 includes entries (410) foreach friend, or, in some embodiments, for only those friends for whichthere is some location information. Entries include: availabilityindicator 412 indicating a friend's availability for IM, SMS, or othertypes of direct communication; friend name 414 (e.g., a full name, firstname, or nickname); friend location information 416 (e.g., simple labelslike “Home”, place names, longitude and latitude coordinates, addresses,or links to a location on a graphically displayed map); and qualifierinformation 418 providing some further information about the user ineither graphical or textual form. These entries are merely examples, andnumerous different types of information can be included. Moreover,multiple entries of the same type (e.g., multiple location labels) canalso be displayed. Various entries can also be hyperlinks or buttonsleading to other software functionality. For example, actuating the “maplocation” link can cause the display of a map showing Brenna's location.Similarly, actuating “Marc” can initiate an IM session with Marc. Stillother functionality can be built into user interface elements. Display400 typically includes one or more graphical user interface elementssuch as buttons 420 and 430 for accessing other software functions suchas adding users or changing the type of display. In still otherexamples, the display is a simple text message, email, IM, tickerdisplay, voicemail, or the like.

FIG. 4B illustrates an alternate view 450 of the friends list. Here, amap image 460 is provided with indicators 470 showing locations ofvarious friends. Legend 480 provides additional information in order tominimize the size and or complexity of indicators 470. Althoughdifferent symbols are used in this example, various other icons, colors,shapes, and the like can be used to identify different friends.

Returning to FIG. 3, once received information is displayed, adetermination is made whether location information should be resent(380). For example, if the user receives location information from Marc,the user may decide (or a decision can be made based on previouslydefined rules or parameters) to transmit new location information toMarc. If it is, desirable to transmit location information, whether newlocation information to an existing user, existing location informationto a new user, etc., any updates are prepared and operation returns to340. If there is no need to transmit or re-transmit locationinformation, or if there was no received location information, operationproceeds to 390. Here, a determination is made whether some definedinterval has expired at it is desired to update current locationinformation. The interval might be a time interval, e.g., update currentlocation every 5 minutes, or it might be an update forced by the user.For whatever reason, if the current location of the user should beupdated, operation returns to 310. If not, the process returns to 350and operates in an event driven loop.

The flow chart of FIG. 3 illustrates some of the many operationalexamples of geographic user list management disclosed in the presentapplication. Those having ordinary skill in the art will readilyrecognize that certain steps or operations illustrated in FIG. 3 can beeliminated or taken in an alternate order. Moreover, the methodsdescribed throughout this application (including FIG. 3) are typicallyimplemented (in whole or in part) as one or more software programsencoded in a computer readable medium as instructions executable on aprocessor. The computer readable medium can be any one of an electronicstorage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium,and a communications medium conveying signals encoding the instructions.Separate instances of these programs can be executed on separate devicesin keeping with the methods described above. Thus, although certainsteps have been described as being performed by certain devices,software programs, processes, or entities, this need not be the case anda variety of alternative implementations will be understood by thosehaving ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a computer system 500 forimplementing the techniques of the present invention. For example,computer system 500 can be an embodiment of one of the previouslydescribed servers or client computer systems. Computer system 500includes a processor 510 and a memory 520 coupled together bycommunications bus 505. Processor 510 can be a single processor or anumber of individual processors working together. Memory 520 istypically random access memory (RAM), or some other dynamic storagedevice, and is capable of storing instructions to be executed by theprocessor, e.g., software 157-159. Memory 520 is also used for storingtemporary variables or other intermediate information during theexecution of instructions by the processor 510.

Those having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that thetechniques and methods discussed below can be implemented in softwareusing a variety of computer languages, including, for example, computerlanguages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, VBScript, JScript, PHP,Peri, SQL; development environments/tools such as Active Server Pages(ASP), JavaServer Pages (JSP), and ColdFusion; and interface tools suchas the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). Additionally, software 157-159can be provided to the computer system via a variety of computerreadable media including electronic media (e.g., flash memory), magneticstorage media (e.g., hard disk 558, a floppy disk, etc.), opticalstorage media (e.g., CD-ROM 560), and communications media conveyingsignals encoding the instructions (e.g., via a network coupled tonetwork interface 554).

Computer system 500 also includes devices such as keyboard & mouse 550,SCSI interface 552, network interface (wireless and/or wired) 554,graphics & display 556, hard disk 558, and CD-ROM 560, all of which arecoupled to processor 510 by communications bus 507. It will be apparentto those having ordinary skill in the art that computer system 500 canalso include numerous elements not shown in the figure, such asadditional storage devices, communications devices, input devices, andoutput devices, as illustrated by the ellipsis shown.

Although the present invention has been described with respect tospecific embodiments thereof, various changes and modifications may besuggested to one skilled in the art and it is intended that the presentinvention encompass such changes and modifications as fall within thescope of the appended claims.

1. A method comprising: determining a location of a clientcommunications device; electing a label for the location, in response toeach of a plurality of users assigning the label to the location;generating location information based on the location and a plurality oflocation information sharing constraints, wherein the locationinformation comprises the label for the location; and transmitting thelocation information to at least one other client communications device.2. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining the location of theclient communications device further comprises one or more of: detectingthe location using the client communications device; detecting thelocation using information from a network communications serviceprovider; or detecting the location using information from a servercomputing device.
 3. The method of claim 1 determining the location ofthe client communications device further comprises: using one or moreof: cell-ID information, cell site sector information, enhanced cell-IDinformation, enhanced observed time difference (E-OTD) information,timing advance information, round-trip-time information, globalpositioning system (GPS) information, assisted-GPS information, userspecified information, time difference of arrival (TDOA) information,client communications device network access information, strength ofreceived communications device signal, MAC information, and SSIDinformation.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining atleast one other location label corresponding to the location.
 5. Themethod of claim 4 wherein the at least one other location label isassigned to the location by one or more of a user of the clientcommunications device and a server computing device.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 wherein further comprising: defining the plurality of locationinformation sharing constraints.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein thelocation information sharing constraints further comprise one or moreof: specification of a user allowed to receive the location information;specification of a group of users allowed to receive the locationinformation; specification of a time period during which the locationinformation can be shared; specification of a geographic restrictions onthe sharing of the location information; specification of a proximityrestriction on the sharing of the location information; or specificationof one or more location labels for use in the location information. 8.The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving location informationcorresponding to a user of another client communications device.
 9. Themethod of claim 8 further comprising: displaying the locationinformation corresponding to the user of another client communicationsdevice on the communications device using one or more of: a graphicaluser interface, a text interface, a command line interface, and anindicator light.
 10. The method of claim 8 further comprising one ormore of: providing an audible indication of receipt of the locationinformation corresponding to the user of another client communicationsdevice; or providing a vibrational indication of receipt of the locationinformation corresponding to the user of another client communicationsdevice.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitting the locationinformation to at least one other client communications device furthercomprises: transmitting additional information about a user of theclient communications device to the at least one other clientcommunications device.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the clientcommunications device and the at least one other client communicationsdevice are each operated by users who are members of a social network.13. A computer readable medium comprising program instructionsexecutable on a processor, the computer readable medium being at leastone of an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, or anoptical storage medium, wherein the program instructions are operableto: determining determine a location of a client communications device;elect a label for the location, in response to each of a plurality ofusers assigning the label to the location; generate location informationbased on the location and a plurality of location information sharingconstraints, wherein the location information comprises the label forthe location; and initiate transmitting of the location information toat least one other client communications device.
 14. The computerreadable medium of claim 13 further comprising program instructionsoperable to: display received location information corresponding to auser of another client communications device on the communicationsdevice using one or more of: a graphical user interface, a textinterface, a command line interface, and an indicator light.
 15. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 13 further comprising programinstructions operable to: define the plurality of location informationsharing constraints.
 16. An apparatus comprising: a memory; a processorcoupled to the memory; a list management module stored in the memory andencoded as instructions executable on the processor, wherein the listmanagement module comprises instructions operable to: receive a locationof a client communications device; elect a label for the location, inresponse to each of a plurality of users assigning the label to thelocation; determine the label corresponding to the location of theclient communications device; and transmit the label and additionalinformation about a user of the client communications device to at leastone other client communications device according to a plurality oflocation information sharing constraints.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16wherein the list management module further comprises instructionsoperable to: receive information about a plurality of users; andorganize the information about a plurality of users according torelationships among the plurality of users.
 18. The apparatus of claim16 further comprising one or more of: an instant messaging interface; anemail interface; or a short message service interface.
 19. The apparatusof claim 16 further comprising: a detection module stored in the memoryand encoded as instructions executable on the processor, wherein thedetection module comprises instructions operable to: receive locationinformation from the client communications device; or receive locationinformation from a network service provider.
 20. The apparatus of claim16 wherein the list management module further comprises instructionsoperable to: define the plurality of location information sharingconstraints.
 21. An apparatus comprising: a means for determining alocation of a client communications device; a means for electing a labelfor the location, in response to each of a plurality of users assigningthe label to the location; a means for generating location informationbased on the location and a plurality of location information sharingconstraints, wherein the location information comprises the label forthe location; and a means for transmitting the location information toat least one other client communications device.